Baseball bat



Jan. 11, 1949.

J E. MARSDEN BASEBALL BAT Filed May 21, 1946 v I amww 2 Patented Jan. 11, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BASEBALL. BAT

John E. 'MarsdemPhiladelphia, Pa.

Application May 21,1946, Serial; No. 67L1 31'j 4 Claims. (01. 273-72") This invention relates. to baseball bats.

One object of the invention is: to furnish an improved baseball bat having, improved qualities in. respect to strength, resilience, and lightness of weight. g

It is well known that baseball bats are frequently broken, particularly when the bat strikes the ball in a direction at a certain angle to the grain thereof. It is a well settled practice that a baseball bat should be sufficiently large in diameter to afford an ampl'ebatting surface. a result, it is difficult tokeep down the weight of the bat, and a difference of only a few ounces may oftentimes have an important effect in the performance of a player, especially when he has toswing the bat with extreme rapidity against a high speed ball.

It is therefore an object of the invention to furnish an improvement in the art for overcoming these d-ifliculties. I

The cost of a good baseball batis relatively high due to the special qualities of the wood employed and the seasoning thereof. Nevertheless; due to possible lack of uniformity in the wood, its resilience at different points: about the circumference is somewhat uneven.

It is therefore another object of the invention to furnish a baseballi bat of such improved construction that itcan be made of relatively inexpensive materials, and may consist largely of rather cheap wood, nevertheless possess uniform resilience.

Another object of the invention is to furnish an improved bat whose grain is so arranged that breakage therealong is not possible intheamanner in. which. it occurredheretofore.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will. become apparent as the specification proceeds.

Fig. 3Iis a side. view of one. of. a series of. strip.

elements of. which. the bat is constructed.

Fig. 4 is a view of the cylindrical. core of the bat.

" invention.

The advantages of the invention as here outlined arebest realized when all of its. features and instrumentalities arev combined, but useful embodiments may be produced involving less than the whole. 7

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art. to which the invention. appertains,. that the: same may be incorporated inseveral different constructions. The accompanying drawing therefore, is.

submitted merely as showing a preferred exhandle. portion 1 2, and enlargement l3, which portions are in perfectly aligned andtrue rela tion with. each. other, and provide a. streamlined configuration. The bat H1 includes a. cylindrical core or rod I4. about which is disposed aseries of radial segments l=5.. Whilethe rod i4 is preferably. of uniform diameter throughout, the segment 15 varies indimensionto conform to the outer contour ofuthe. bat H1. Thus the. segment 15 has an inner edge Hi which in this instance may be straight throughout. to seat against the surface of the. core l4, and an outer edge or surface l'lwhich is. curved at l8 and I9 to correspond to the portions It, I2; and I3. Because-oi the circular cross section of the bat I In, all of the segments l5 are of wedge shaped form, as clearly shown. in Fig. 2. For simplicity in manufacture, the. wedge angle is perferably uniform throughout, the length of the segment l5. Accordingly all of the portions H, 12, and I3 consist of segments which are principally wedge shapedn Best results are. obtained bymaking elements. l4v and I5 of a-lengthequal to the overall length of the bat. lit will thus be clear that the cross. sectional view of Fig. 5 is applicable to any point along the bat.

The core l4 andthe series of segmentssuch as IE3 are secured in assemblyrelation with each other to produce the bat. L0. in any suitable manner. Any desired fastening means may be employed. for this purpose. The best results are obtained by bonding or. adhesively uniting the various elements, preferably throughout their contacting surfaces. Thus-an adhesive may be used such as a glue or plastic material. The

verse direction it extends in general parallelism, H

with the individual elements l5. In other words,

in the assembled bat ID, the grain is app'roxi mately radial at all points throughout the -cir-.

cumference of the bat throughout the length thereof. The strips or segments [5 are made of wood sufficiently uniform in grain for this pur: pose, and are cut in such a manner as to achieve this result. The grain of the core 14 is relatively immaterial, and it suifices'fthat it be formed of a strong and tough wood to serve as an axial bracing or stiffening element of highly uniform resilience. Another advantage in the use of the core 14 is that it affords a good seat or bearing for the segments at I6. In other words, if the core was not used,-it might be necessary to cut,

the segments 15 substantially to a feather edge at l6. This would increase the cost of manufacture, and would tend to diminish the strength of the bat. In certain cases, the space occupied by the core l4 may be left open or may be filled with a plastic hardening material. If desired, a hollow, metallic tube may be substituted for the core I4.

' 'In manufacture, it is merely necessary to provide a series of identical segments l5 and a rod such as M, thecontact surfaces of all of which are wettedwith a suitable adhesive or glue which need be applied only sufficiently to secure good adhesion between the parts. The assembly is then placedin afsuitable die, and the adhesive permitted to dry or otherwise harden under pressure applied by the die, and with the application of a suitable degree of heat ifnecessary. Finally the outside surface of the bat may be cut down slightly if necessary, to achieve a perfectly smooth surface. The bat is now complete and ofcourse it may be varnished or stained if desired.

The bat ID will not break or split along the grain because theimpact of the ball is always against the grain, and the segments l5 are sufficiently narrow to tend to interrupt a breaking strain, this effect being probably assisted by the adhesive at the joints of the parts. In effect, the adhesive maybe stronger than the Wood itself, but because it is used in a' rather limited amount, resilience is preserved without producing brittleness. In fact, there may be a shock absorber quality at the seams'du e to the used different materials, the properties of the adhesive being different than those of the wood. Because of the radial segments, the resilience will be uniform around the circumference of the bat. The latter may be constructed of relatively inexpensive wood, or of scraps thereof, and satisfactory results have been obtained with white pine. The woods employed may be relatively light in weight, and thus a bat may be'constructed whose batting portion l I may have the requisite diameter to afford a large batting surface without unduly increasing the weight of the bat. It is thus possible for the manufacturer, by proper selection of woods, to produce bats of vdifierent weights and large diameter while maintaining the' strength and resilience of the bat, and such bats may be comparatively inexpensive.

In Fig. 6 is shown a modification which is in all respects like the bat I8 except that it illustrates that certain of the segments need not be angular or wedge shaped, and it further shows that a single strip of material may be used passing right through the bat along a diameter thereof i Thus-there is .showm astrip; element 2 I which may beiofigenerally uniform width, except that it may include an integral core portion 22 which may be defined by the grooves 23, or by making the core portion larger in diameter than the thickness of the strip, or both. Certain segments 24 maybe shaped at 25 to conform to the grooves 23, while the other segments 26 may be wholly uniform like those at l5. All of the segments 24 and 26 may seat against the core portion. The same structure may be maintained at every point in the cross section throughout the length of the bat 20. v r

' In Fig. 7 is showna modified bat 30 which is intended to illustrate a structure whereby a core maybe omitted without employing an unduly sharp feather edge at the axis of the bat. The latter may comprise a series of wedgelike elements whose angle is increased at 32 to furnish a longitudinal lip or flange, whereby the several elements 3l are formed with relatively blunt nose portions with the different elements directly angularlyabutting each other in a complete circle. Between the different elements 3i are disposed the complemental segments 33 :whose inner edges sit on the portions 32, the latter thus acting as a sectional core for the elements 33. In other respectsthe bat 30 is like that at [8.

In Fig. 8 is shown a bat 35 which is like that shown at H), except that it illustrates the breaking of radial joints between the segments such as Win the bat). In the instant bat there is a core 36 formed separately or integrally with one or more of the segments in a manner illustrated in Figs. 6 and '7, and cooperating therewith is a series of segments 31 whose inner portions 38 may be of increased width to form a shape like akeystone. These portions 38 form the seams 39 terminating at the shoulders 40. Seated upon the latter and between the elements 31 are the segments 4!, 42 which maybe of like or varying widths, thus producing seams 43 staggered or offset with respect to the seams 39. By this construction the strength of the bat may be substantially increased, and all the other advantages thereof maintained.

As used herein, the term segment may apply to a strip element generally radial to the bat and being of either uniform thickness or wedge shaped form. It will be appreciated that any suitablenumber "of such segments may be employed, satisfactory results having been produced by using between l2 and I6 segments of the type shown at l5.

I claim:

1 1. As a new article of manufacture, a baseball bat having an axially extending core, a circular series of longitudinal wooden segments with the grain of the wood being generally radial throughout, each of said segments having an inner portion keystone shaped in cross-section in contact with the core and an outer portion of reduced width extending radially ofsaid keystone portion to form shoulders, a plurality of wedge shaped segments each interposed between consecutive said said core and all of said segments being adhesively united together.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a baseball bat having an axially extending core, a plurality of longitudinal wooden segments with the grain of the wood being generally radial throughout arranged in a circular series about said core with their inner portion in abutting relation with adjacent segments and with the core, each segment having an outer portion of reduced width extending radially to the outer surface of the bat, and other wedge shaped segments inserted, one on each side of said outer portion, said core and all of said segments being adhesively united together.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a baseball bat having a circular series of longitudinal wooden segments substantially wedge shaped in crosssection with th grain of the wood being generally radial throughout, said series comprising a set of alternate segments extending radially from the axis to the outer surface of the bat and having an apex angle, each of said alternate segments abutting adjacent alternate segments in the apex angle region to form an axial core, and a second set of segments each alternately interfitted between two of said first alternate segments and extending radially from a point spaced outwardly from the axis to the outer surface of the bat, all of said segments being adhesively united together.

4. As a new article of manufacture, a baseball bat having a circular series of longitudinal wooden segments with the grain of the wood being generally radial throughout, the segments having bonding seams therebetween extending substantially radially, a substantial number of the seams having portions extending at an angle to said I radial direction at a point between the axis of the bat and the outer, surface thereof, adjoining segments having cut away portions to the outer surface, and wedge shaped segments inserted in said cut away portions.

JOHN E. MARSDEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

